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Consultant unimpressed with police chief process

By Elizabeth Dobbins, edobbins@sentinelandenterprise.com

Updated:
02/23/2017 08:06:19 AM EST

Ex-Mayor Lisa Wong

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WORCESTER -- Months before former Fitchburg Mayor Lisa Wong withdrew Scott Heagney's nomination as the city's next police chief in March 2014, the owner of the company hired to lead the candidate search, Stephen Unsworth, said he expressed doubts about both the city's process and Heagney.

His concerns were not heeded by the city, he testified Wednesday, though the initial report on Heagney's background developed by his company was positive.

"I told both the mayor and committee that 20 (applicants) was inadequate and that the quality of the applicants was not what I would hope for," Unsworth said.

He outlined the involvement of his company, BadgeQuest, in the city's police chief search, during a lawsuit filed by Heagney in federal court. The former candidate alleges the city of Fitchburg wrongfully withdrew his nomination and Wong made comments to the press that damaged his reputation.

Unsworth and BadgeQuest were also named defendants in the lawsuit, but claims against the owner and business were "dismissed with prejudice" in July of last year, according to court documents.

Heagney's attorney, Nicholas Carter, called Unsworth to the stand and he said BadgeQuest was asked to help the city hire a new police chief based on the 20 applications already received by the city. Unsworth said he usually recommends 70 to 100 applicants for a department the size of Fitchburg.

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Unsworth told the court he was unimpressed by Heagney's resume, which described his rise through the ranks from Lieutenant at the Franklin Police Department and, later, as an officer with the U.S. Justice Department's Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. When Heagney applied to the Fitchburg Police Chief position he was the agent-in-charge at the Rochester, New York field office of the ATF.

Unsworth said Heagney's experience at the federal agency had little to do with the community police work he would be expected to lead in Fitchburg.

"It's a different job. If he had a broken leg, he wouldn't go to a heart surgeon," he said at the end of a long, emphatic statement, which was cut off District of Massachusetts Judge Timothy Hillman.

Unsworth said he also not impressed by Heagney's performance in the assessment portion of the process, though he is not sure he expressed this thought to the search committee.

In a report complied by a BadgeQuest employee, several of Heagney's co-workers, his wife, ex-wife and others spoke favorably of his honesty, integrity, strong character, intelligence, outgoing nature and leadership skills, according to Unsworth.

Fitchburg Human Resources Director Bernard Stephens testified the report also mentioned that Heagney assisted the city of Attleboro in reducing the local police department's corruption, which Carter argued "could create enemies" like the anonymous Attleboro resident who wrote a letter to the Mayor and city council.

Unsworth said he was initially doubtful about the letter, which raised concerns regarding Heagney's background and family, but he and the city were committed to investigating.

"It was certainly very personal," Unsworth said.

Several days after the city officials received the letter, but before the investigation was completed, Wong withdrew her support for Heagney, according to Unsworth.

When asked about the letter in March 2014, Heagney emailed Stephens an newspaper article about an assault and battery case he was tried and acquitted for in in 1988, which Carter said in opening comments, caused Wong to withdraw the nomination despite a Massachusetts law that states Heagney did not have to reveal this information.

Defense attorney Leonard Kesten previously argued Wong withdrew her nomination because the city discovered he had worked for three additional departments not otherwise mentioned in his application, including the Falmouth Police Department from 1990 to 1993. His application said he was at the Franklin Police Department during these three years, according to Unsworth and Kesten.

Stephens said the resume requested by the city did not stipulate what years the applicant had to put on their resumé. A separate work history requested by BadgeQuest asked for the candidates last 15 years of employment, which Unsworth called an "oversight." Heagney's work at the other departments fell outside of this 15-year time frame, Carter argued.

Before receiving the letter, Unsworth said BadgeQuest had not acquired personnel files from any of the listed or unlisted departments, though they planned to review the ATF documents.

Unsworth said BadgeQuest was told ATF did background checks on Heagney every five years and did not anticipate any problems on the check for Fitchburg.

Kesten said even if Unsworth had acquired the ATF files, he would not have seen a letter of reprimand Heagney received in 1999 from the Franklin Police Department. The letter, which he showed the court, said the reprimand would be kept on file for three years but not shown to any potential employers if Heagney applied for jobs.

According to documents and Kesten, Heagney received two five-day suspensions and several written reprimands not disclosed in his application. Carter suggested these reprimands fell outside of the 15-year time frame stipulated by the BadgeQuest application, though Unsworth disagreed.

Stephens will continue his testimony Thursday and Wong is scheduled to take the stand later in the day.

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